Pork And Clams Team To Make A Feast Fit For The King

July 26, 1987|By Column by William Rice, Photo by Tony Berardi. William Rice is SUNDAY`s food and wine columnist. Tony Berardi is a Tribune photographer.

James Beard saw and tasted it all. Until his death in early 1983, he was a walking oral history of cooking in America. A native of Oregon, he spent more than 40 years of his long life in New York City. But over those years, he crisscrossed the nation, sharing and augmenting his knowledge. Through his travels he developed an unparalleled dossier of people, places and products that represented the top level of American cooking and winemaking.

Jim Beard believed in American food and American cooks, even when processors of food and indifferent, convenience-crazed homemakers appeared to be in cahoots to abolish flavor and texture as quality yardsticks. ``I`ve never taught a class in `French` cooking,`` he told me once, ``and I never will. With our rich heritage and our melting-pot tradition, we should look into the annals of our own cuisine for inspiration.``

It was particularly appropriate, therefore, that for the Third Annual American Chefs` Tribute to James Beard, the selection committee conducted a search to find talented American cooks from all parts of the nation. Eighteen were eventually chosen from a list of more than 110 nominees honored at the tribute, a benefit for New York`s Citymeals-on-Wheels held June 10 at Rockefeller Center.

The foods these chefs prepared ranged from fantasy fare (``chocolate chilies rellenos,`` for instance) to several examples of the hearty, straightforward, satisfying cooking Jim Beard liked best. I think especially of half a dozen meat dishes, three of which are represented here. (You`ll have to go to Joe`s Restaurant in Reading, Pa., to sample the fourth, a magnificent bear meat and wild mushroom stew created by chef/owner Jack Czarnecki. Recipes for the potted duck legs and ribeye of lamb with anchovied spinach prepared by Chicago chefs Michael Foley and Leslee Reis have already appeared in the Food Guide.)

Beard loved pork, and he loved imaginative ingredient combinations. Thus I`m sure he would have approved of the roast pork served by Jasper White, whose Restaurant Jasper is beside the historic harbor in Boston. White used New England clams and an ample amount of fresh garlic to fashion a turf-and-surf dish that might have been handed down by the Portuguese who came to New England in the last century to fish.

Robert del Grande, who has a Ph.D. in biochemistry, appears to share Beard`s keen memory for tastes and taste combinations. Working with exceptionally flavorful legs of young lamb from New Zealand, Del Grande married them to a contrasting pair of Southwestern chile-flavored sauces he prepares at his Cafe Annie in Houston. The green chile sauce is offered here. Lastly, what could be more American than the spareribs Bill Collins prepared? ``These wonderful morsels have been favorites among Americans for generations,`` Beard wrote, ``and they seem to be particularly our own. . . .`` Collins` ribs, made for customers of his Texas Pit Barbecue on St. Thomas in the Virgin Islands, are so good that barbecue sauce becomes an optional condiment instead of a necessity.

Jim Beard would have enjoyed his tribute. He would have responded to the superb setting, approved of the self-confidence of and easy camaraderie among talented young cooks who--like him--feel no shame in thinking of themselves as ``American`` chefs and willingly shared the delicious food they created.

Bouquet garni made from 3 allspice berries, a few thyme and parsley stems, 10 black peppercorns

1. At least 3 and up to 12 hours before cooking, mix thyme, cracked peppercorns and chopped garlic in a shallow dish. Roll roast in this mixture, covering all surfaces. Cover roast with plastic wrap and refrigerate.

2. Prepare stock. In a roasting pan, brown pork bones, onion, celery and carrot in a hot oven. Transfer to a large saucepan or pot. Deglaze pan with a little water. Add to bones and vegetables, along with tomatoes, stock, wine and bouquet garni. Bring to a boil, lower heat and simmer for 3 hours. Strain. (This may be done ahead.)